Sled dogs

Though reindeers are typically associated with sleds during the holidays, there aren’t all that may reindeers drawing sleds generally encountered nowadays, with more people more inclined to used motorized sleds as opposed to the use of animals.

However, sled dogs are still quite prevalent, mostly used for recreational purposes and not as a primary means for transport.

The 1994 Walt Disney feature, Iron Will, stands as a representative to the still-ongoing popularity of sled dogs, with the movie telling the tale of how a young man took part in a cross country sled dog race.

Though the time and setting of the story can’t be described as the most modern of tenses, the film managed to look into the world of sledding, along with significant focus and emphasis on sled dogs.

The term sled dogs doesn’t exactly denote a certain dog breed, but it does refer to a working dog type, with the practice known to have been around since 2000 BC. One of the most popular dog breeds used as sled dogs would be the Greenland Dog, which is characterized by its dense coat and wide-padded paws.

The Alaskan Husky would be another popular sled dog breed, along with the Canadian Eskimo Dog. When talking about sled dogs, two traits are generally considered to be basic attribute, the first being a dog’s strength, the second, a dog’s endurance/stamina.

Since sled dogs are expected to draw sleds through snow or iced surfaces, their strength, matched with their robust endurance capacities are highly valued.

As with most working dogs, sled dogs are quite smart and intuitive as individual dogs, making them popular in different households taking the role of the household’s pet. With their generally cool temperaments and quick-to-adapt traits, they continue to be iconic fixtures in the world of sledding.

Sled dogs Video

 

In Memoriam: Obituaries for Rich Singapore’s Pets

(While some people are overlooked)

The Straits-Times “Pets Corner” will now host goodbye obituaries by loving owners to their beloved pets.

This move was said to be motivated by wealthy Singapore’s rich population having less and less kids, the attention instead being devoted to pets.

This is just an extension of Singapore’s famous lavish doting on pets. This attention and loving care for pets resulted in the rise of industries catering to consumers wishing to give “premium” everything to their pets. Hence the rise in the popularity of premium pet food, premium pet accessories and premium pet fashion.

The obituaries carry premium prices too, each at about S$50 ($40.94) with an added 7 percent in goods and services tax.

Meanwhile, this pet doting boom in Singapore also led to the rise in migrant workers hired solely to take care of rich pets. Which, in a way, can be said to be also a boon for poorer countries.

When roles get reversed

But sometimes the love of animals can exceed compassion for people. Witness this comment from a Singaporean pet forum:

“I was riding my bike back home from office towards and before Great World City that stretch of road and I saw two beautiful Golden Retrievers crossing the road handled by a maid. This STUPID maid was pulling hard on the leash of one of the Retrievers, The dog refused to move on and the pull was hard.

“I really hope the owner of the dogs should handle the dogs personally. Maid [sic] cannot be trusted. I feel like putting a leash on the maid and give a hard pull and let her knows [sic] the feel of it.”
In fairness, other members of the forum chimed in to soothe the original thread poster, telling her golden retrievers are naturally stubborn so she shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
But then there’s no denying the spirit of the times, as shown in the tagline of one of the forum’s moderators:

“Children are for people who can’t have dogs - Anon”

Treating pets like people while people are treated like animals cannot be called progress. It is a form of poverty — of the spirit.

But all is not lost

Recent protests over Singapore Zoo’s newest Giant Panda Pair is a sign of Singapore’s growing animal rights advocacy community. With this kind of compassion at hand, there’s still a chance it would trickle down to Singapore’s sizable (roughly one out of three) migrant worker population.

Komondor Dogs

As a dog hailing from Hungary, the Komondor is one that comes with different names, formally known as the Hungarian Komondor or the Hungarian Sheepdog, but more popularly referred to as the “mop dog”.

As its “pet name” would imply, the Komondor dog’s thick matted and corded fur gives it a mop-like “sheen”, one which can be described as similar to humans sporting dreadlocks as their hairstyle, only that the “dreads” of the Komondor are natural and not cosmetically induced.

Also known for being one of the largest dog breeds around, the Komondor is quite famous for its “natural guarding instincts”, making them the perfect sheepdogs, or dogs designated to watch over different livestock.

In fact, the personalities of Komondor dogs is so akin towards being guards that they are typically calm when things are okay, springing into action when things are awry or simply off.

Typically, Komondor dogs are kept as working dogs, given their natural guarding inclinations, but instances of them being kept as pets are also quite common. Well built and athletic, the breed is known to have a particular exercise regimen.

Given the dog’s large size, Komondor dogs are typically introduced to training methods and modes early, designed to help control them as they grow older. But unlike most dogs, training sessions with Komondors require a certain “edge”, one which suits well with the dog’s attitudes – particularly how easily they get bored.

As a dog, the Komondor is considered to be one of Hungary’s national treasures, a dog breed whose breeding status is well kept from any modifications.

Powerful, strong and simply unique with its matted-corded fur, Komondor dogs are certainly one of the world’s more unique dog breeds.

 Komondor Dogs Video

 

New Zealand’s Driving Dogs

New Zealand’s local SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) gives dogs driving lessons to drive up dog adoption.

Meet Porter, Monty and Ginny, the world’s first driving dogs. They have been trained how to drive modified cars by the New Zealand SPCA. The aim was to demonstrate that rescue dogs are not only as good as dogs obtained from breeders, sometimes they could be even better — as they have shown by their driving skills recently.

SPCA is hoping the resulting publicity would raise the rate of adopting rescue dogs like Porter, Monty and Ginny.
Porter, a 10-month old bearded collie cross, was an abandoned dog. Monty, an 18-month old Giant Schnauzer was given up by its owner to the SPCA (apparently too much to handle). Meanwhile Ginny, a bearded whippet cross, was literally a whipping dog — coming from an abusive home.

And now they have become internationally famous.

Porter and Monty made their unassisted driving debut in their first live driving test (December 10th) at an Auckland racetrack. Strapped to a modified Mini Countryman, Porter and Monty used their paws to do all the driving work: from starting the modified ignition key, hitting the brake, setting the car into gear, steering the wheel, to turning on the accelerator (there was a speed limiter so the car could not go above walking speed).

Ginny didn’t take the live test drive but her driving skills were similar to Porter and Monty’s.

And the offers for adoption poured in — for Porter and Monty. Ginny got less interest — possibly because she had less airtime, mused SPCA CEO Christine Kalin.
Which is understandable. People flock to the superstars. They missed out seeing more of Ginny, so many didn’t know she was there.

But the point of the campaign was not to produce dog superstars but to gain attention to the plight of rescue dogs who need ‘forever’ homes.

As the Drivingdogs admin posted back in December 12:

“If you are looking, there are loads of dogs at the SPCA, not all can drive, but all are just as amazing!.”

And slowly but surely, the option of getting rescue dogs is getting popular with those who are looking for pet companions. And getting there may be the best drive of all.

Collies

As a dog, collies have long been considered as a dog breed, but that title is actually incorrect in the sense that collies are not exactly a breed but rather a type of herding dog that hails from the Northern parts of England and Scotland.

Lassie, from the 1943 released feature Lassie Come Home, has become iconic for collies, with the name Lassie loosely used as household term that defines the dog type, in general.

Essentially a “Rough Collie”, Lassie, as a character, has defined a lot of doggy attributes which countless households look for in the ideal family dog, steadfast in its resolve, strong in its overall constitution and intelligent in assessing situations and scenarios.

In Lassie Come Home, Lassie is separated from her family, a separation which was caused by the fact that her family had to sell her to a new master. Ever loyal to her masters, Lassie managed to escape from her buyers, going on an adventure in finding her way back home from Scotland to Yorkshire.

A lot of Lassie’s positive attributes stand true with collies in general, with most collies exhibiting significant capabilities for intelligence, stamina and generally “trainable” temperaments.

Though not exactly the poster-dog for all collies, Lassie’s popularity has defined collies in a lot of ways, leading to the organization of different collie types for shows, with a known number of mixes known to exist.

As a herding dog, collies are quite popular in the United Kingdom, and with Lassie Come Home, it has also become popular in different parts of the world.

Collies Video

Basset Hounds

As a dog breed, the basset hound is one that is easily recognized dogs anywhere in the world, but is usual recognized not as “basset hounds” but by other names.

From “the Droopy breed” to “the Hush Puppies breed”, different household names have been pegged in identifying the basset hound, with such names taken from pop culture trends and characters.

In 2007, a film entitled Underdog was released, with the movie bearing a keen take on its main character, played by a basset hound. Featuring the voice talents of Jason Lee and James Belushi, the movie’s plot revolves around a super-dog, who had gained superpowers.

Given that basset hounds are now considered to be household pets, Underdog’s twist took shape in featuring a dog breed that is perceived to be generally harmless, but did have superpowers making him a dog that’s not to mess with.

However, basset hounds are far from simply being “harmless”, since they were originally kept as hunting dogs.

Characterized by their short legs and long bodies, basset hounds are perfect for hare/rabbit hunting trips, with their acute sense of smell being backed by their capacity to easily dig out rabbits in their rabbit holes.

Though not all basset hounds kept as pets are used as hunting dogs today, today’s basset hound population still do exhibit an acute sense of smell, as well as a penchant for active and engaging activities with their masters.

Usually bi-colored or tri-colored, the physical traits of basset hounds continues to remain the same as it was in the past, defining the breed as one that is truly easy to identify, though not exactly in the most correct use of its name.

Basset Hounds Video

 

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